History Main / NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe

---> '''Starscream''': Megatron?! Is that you?!
---> ''' Galvatron''': [[BackFromTheDead HERE'S A HINT!]] ([[PreMortemOneLiner kills him]])

[[IThoughtItMeant Unrelated to any changes]] Music/NoDoubt has made over the years.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/{{Sabrina}}'' when the title character returns from two years in [[GayParee Paris]] and is met at the train by her lifelong crush, over whom she tried to [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself previously.]] He doesn't recognize her for a ''long'' time because she's [[SheCleansUpNicely gotten so elegant and lovely]] over there.

* In ''{{Sin City}}'', the "Yellow Bastard" uses this to reveal himself to Detective Hartigan as Roarke Jr.

* See the SinCity example in film, as it was word-for-word (and shot-for-shot) for the comic that preceded it.

* A very unusual example: in Andrzej Sapkowski's [[TheWitcher Witcher]] Cycle: Emhyr var Emereis, [[EvilOverlord Emperor of Nilfgaard]] and one of the main antagonists from the second book onwards, turns out to have been [[spoiler: Duny, a fairly likable cursed prince whom Geralt, the main character, helped during one of the early stories. What's more, Duny didn't seek revenge at all; rather, he just happened to be the exiled prince of [[TheEmpire Nilfgaard]] rather than a more innocuous kingdom, not to mention enough of a {{Magnificent Bastard}} to reclaim his throne and launch an EvilPlan to [[TakeOverTheWorld take over]]/[[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans save the world]].]] Not too long after the Reveal (Geralt actually somehow recognising him when they finally meet face to face), the Emperor [[spoiler:pretty much abandons his pursuit of the heroes and also signs peace with the Northern Kingdoms, ceasing to be an antagonist (it's not nearly as absurd or anticlimactic as it sounds, mind you)]].

'''Judge Turpin:''' Benjamin...Barker!\\
'''Sweeney Todd:''' BENJAMIN BARKER!!!

* Averted in ''FireEmblem'' (The Sacred Stones): The missing prince of Jehanna, [[spoiler: Joshua]], has been gone from his homeland for ten years, but steps up and is clearly recognized by Queen Ismaire [[spoiler: right before she dies]]. It helps that red hair appears to be common in Jehanna.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4}}'' Old Snake and Meryl meet up again but Snake had aged so much that she didn't recognize him at first.

* The source of the title is taken from a quote from SweeneyTodd to Judge Turpin directly before he finally kills him in ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''.

* The shanty song "The Mariner's Revenge Song" by [[Music/TheDecemberists The Decemberists]] tells a tale of two sailors trapped in the [[BellyOfTheWhale belly of a whale,]] but one has a [[MyNameisInigoMontoya last tale to tell the other]].

* Between Shayera Hol and Hro Talek in "Starcrossed", when she tries to convince Hro to relocate the hyperspace generator:

'''Hro:''' I am your commander! You will not question me!\\

** When Link meets with [[LongLived Impa]] at Kakariko Village in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', she states her hope that he still recognizes her despite her being much older now. Turns out Link has [[AmnesiacHero totally lost his memories]] and doesn't remember Impa whatsoever; it's never made clear whether or not he would have recognized her with his memories intact. Similar scenes play out between Link and several [[FishPeople Zora]] characters he was ChildhoodFriends with before the Great Calamity.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', very few people realize that Child Link and Adult Link are the same person (and mostly the ones who do are the ones in on the plan to fight Ganondorf). Justified in the case of his Kokiri Friends - they thought that Link was one of them and no Kokiri child grows up. This is also used in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', when Link fails to recognize [[spoiler:the Skull Kid as the one he met in ''Ocarina of Time'']], but then it was a rather brief encounter and entirely optional at that.

* Daniel Meade's [[spoiler:brother]] on ''UglyBetty'' was presumed dead at the beginning of the series. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler: he had only faked his death so that he could get a sex change]]. When "Alexis" finally reveals herself to Daniel after claiming to be one of Daniel's brother's exes, she says "Take a good look at my eyes; that's about the only thing they couldn't change."

** And then there's the infamous exchange from ''TransformersTheMovie'';

* Played for laughs in ''Film/{{Sabrina}}'' when the title character returns from several years in [[GayParee Paris]] and is met at the train by her lifelong crush, over whom she [[InterruptedSuicide tried to kill herself previously.]] He doesn't recognize her for a ''long'' time because she's [[HollywoodHomely gotten so elegant and lovely]] over there. Also, [[TooDumbToLive because he's an idiot.]]

* In Literature/TheBible, Joseph is unrecognizable to his brothers when he reappears in their lives, and reveals himself to great rejoicing (after having some fun making them sweat for a bit).

* OlderThanFeudalism: In Creator/{{Homer}}'s ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', Athena uses magic to make Odysseus appear as an old beggar when he finally returns home, and after defeating his wife's suitors in an archery contest, reveals his identity and kills them all.
** Aside from the disguise, the years really ''have'' changed him and Penelope, after waiting 20 years, is terrified of believing too readily, so she does not accept him immediately even when he reveals himself, explaining "But I have too clear a picture of you in my mind as you were when you sailed from Ithaca in your long-oared ship." Then she tricks him into proving his identity in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome which leads to one of the most unbearably [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming poignant reunions in literature.]]
** This is a subversion, as well. After 10 years stranded on a desert island (possibly with a divine lover), he ''should'' look like an old beggar. The text suggests that, in fact, the swineherd who greets him recognized him (why kill a suckling pig for a random beggar?) as did Penelope (why invite a random beggar into your confidence, into a private room, and ask him to interpret a dream?). The first wanted to curry favor, the latter to retain her position as the center of importance on Ithaka. The ones who had actual reason not to recognize him were his son (too young to remember) and the suitors (from other islands, didn't got to Ilia).
*** This is an AlternateCharacterInterpretation, not suggested by Homer's actual text. Eumaios slaughters a brace of suckling pigs because of Sacred Hospitality and suckling pigs is what the servants get to eat (the suitors eat the grown-up ones). Don't forget that though he is a swineherd and a slave, Eumaios is noble-born. And Penelope wanted to have a private conversation with Odysseus because he was not quite a random beggar, but a beggar who claimed to have encountered Odysseus on his travels. The suitors all came from Ithaca and islands ruled by Odysseus, so at least some of them should have seen him before he left for Troy, especially as none of them were as young as Telemachus. And Homer does play up the two who do recognize Odysseus under his disguise, his dog Argos and his old nurse Eurycleia.

* OlderThanFeudalism: In the [[Literature/TheBible Hebrew Bible]], Joseph is unrecognizable to his brothers when he reappears in their lives, and reveals himself to great rejoicing (after having some fun making them sweat for a bit).

* In ''{{Metal Gear Solid 4}}'' Old Snake and Meryl meet up again but Snake had aged so much that she didn't recognize him at first.

'''Shayera:''' I don't even know you anymore.\\
'''Hro:''' Funny, I could say the same about you.

* The US ''DealOrNoDeal'' once [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGR7hh0se2k attempted to reunite a contestant with her sister by disguising the sister as one of the models]]. This led to an unintended CrowningMomentOfFunny as Howie Mandel tries to give increasingly obvious clues, and not only does the contestant fail to recognize her sister for over a minute, but so does their ''mother''.

* ''KickinIt'': As the series began, Bobby Wasabi was a former movie star who hasn't been seen in public for at least two decades. When he first made an appearance, he was so overweight people had problem linking him to the movie star. No wonder the producers making a movie of his life wanted him to be portrayed by somebody else.

** It's worse than that; [[spoiler: at the end of the story, when the woman reveals to her fried what had happened, it's revealed that the friend had given her little more than costume jewelery; she had toiled away for all those years for nothing.]]

* A tear-jerkingly depressing one in the ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' linked-short-story collection ''Consequences''. In the story "Kaleidoscope", a Torchwood screw-up means that a nice young lad called Danny Dillard is left with an addiction to an alien artifact, and runs away from home to find something to fill his growing hunger. In "The Wrong Hands", set maybe a year later, Gwen arrests the leader of the drug-dealing Dillard Gang, and there isn't a flicker of recognition from either of them: he's changed too much for her to recognise, and he's too out of it to recognise her.

* Attempted by Edmond in the 2002 film ''Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' (based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas) after his time in prison when he meets his father. He leans in close and pushes the hair from his face, but his father does not recognize him. Apparently, the years had changed him a little too much.

* A graphic novel adaptation of ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDoctorJekyllAndMrHyde'' has Mr. Hyde comment to one of Jekyll's friends: "Do ye not recognise the face of Henry Jekyll?" - despite the fact that the two should be totally different people, as was in the original story.

* In ''VideoGame/Dynasty Warriors'', the various members of the Ma Clan are all taken aback at the sight of Wang Yi, who had set out on a quest for vengeance after Ma Chao killed her family. Though we never see her past self, the Ma Clan's dialogues heavily imply that she was a much different person before the murders.

* In ''SpeedGrapher'', Suitengu's plans ultimately involve taking revenge on the man who sold him and his sister into slavery as children, and he pulls this on this man [[spoiler: the Prime Minister of Japan]] at the end of the series.

** Played straight with Lorraine, who's become a haggard, [[GagBoobs Gag Boobed]] alcoholic between marrying Biff in 1973-A and 1985-A.